This week, I had planned to write
about the release of Gizmo
Project 1.0 along
with a list of spectacular features not found in any other calling
software like voicemail, SMS
notification, call record, and blasts (amazingly fun sound effects you
can
play during a phone conversation like a radio DJ) etc. There is even a
Linux version of Gizmo Project debuting, to go
along with the existing Macintosh OS X and Microsoft Windows versions.
(Linspire
users can install with one click using CNR.) But I think there's
something more significant to talk about.

Google is announcing new instant
messaging/VOIP (net calling) software
called Google Talk.
Google's plan
is sure to get considerable attention as reporters chronicle Google's
efforts to play catchup to the instant messenger leaders like AOL, MSN
and Yahoo!. But there's
something much more noteworthy about the announcement. Google is
agreeing to connect to other networks - something the big three instant
messaging companies have refused to do. My company,
SIPphone, has
agreed to join into a federation with Google to use open
standards and allow our customers to trade instant messages and voice
calls.

Imagine if the telephone system worked in a way that prevented a
Verizon customer from calling an AT&T customer, who in turn
couldn't call a T-Mobile
customer. It would cause chaos, high prices,
and slow innovation. But this is exactly how instant messaging and
early
net calling networks, like Skype, work today. Friends on AIM can't
communicate with others on Yahoo or MSN. I've written about this
in
the past
and how it's detrimental to global communications. We need
communication systems based on global directories, which requires
companies to set aside the competitive drive that compels them to
want to control the entire system and agree to cooperate.

Google's monumental announcement lays the groundwork for a shift in how
instant messaging and voice will work in the future. It's the first
time a major net company has agreed to use open standards and connect
their network to others. Future releases of Gizmo Project will allow
voice calls and instant messages to and from Google Talk. This
is made possible because Google is using Jabber, (an instant messaging
standard which Gizmo Project is also employing) and also providing a
SIP interchange (SIP is standard often used for voice calls - and where
SIPphone derived its name).

Google Talk is a very remedial Microsoft Windows-only communication
program. Those users looking for full-featured net calling software
will be highly disappointed because it is missing voicemail,
conference calling, ability to call or receive calls from mobile phone
or
landlines, and many other basic functions found in Gizmo Project. Similarly, it's
a very lightweight instant messenger without many features like
smileys, pounce, avatars, group chats, etc., that people who use
instant messengers have
come to rely on. It will surely improve on both fronts. Google Talk's
significance is definitely not its feature set, but the pressure it
will put on AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo! to open their own networks or
risk
being run over by the rest of the world who will eventually join the
federation,
link their user directories, and trade instant messages and voice
calls.

With Gizmo Project, we've had a policy from day one to connect to every
network - even those of direct competitors. We are connected to nearly 20 voice networks. In
addition, we now have more than 150,000 university phones
reachable via GUPS.
Google's commitment to talking to the rest of world will definitely
help expand that list. I hope you'll give Gizmo Project a try to promote
an
interconnected world!

-- MichaelThe Michael's Minute Meter

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